Reuters reports that, in a statement issued today, Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Robert Semple warned that Apple could be reducing its inventories of current models of iPod players, in advance of a refresh of the product line, which he expects to see in September or October.

Knowledge Networks, a Menlo Park-based market research firm, has released a study that claims 50% of those who subscribe to video cell phone services actually watch video. The report titled How People Use Mobile Video studied mobile video usage on mobile phones, iPods and laptops and surprisingly concludes that only three percent of the 13 to 54 year old broadband population actually have used their phones and video iPods to watch video.

Sony has announced newer and higher capacity versions of their famous Micro Vault line of flash drives. The new drives come in 256 MB to 4 GB capacities and are "Byte-sized" according to Sony. The Micro Vaults measure 1/2" wide and 1" long while being about the thickness of a quarter.

Telephia, a mobile market research firm, has released a report which states the majority of mobile phone gamers base their purchases on price and familiarity. Low prices and free trials entice 59% and 48% of people to buy games, while 43% buy games that they know from consoles or PCs.

SanDisk has announced a line of Cruzer flash drives which come with Skype preloaded. The new U3 Cruzer line of drives can also hold user preferences, applications and browser favorites. Capacities start at 512 MB for the regular Cruzer and go up to 2 GB for the Cruser Titanium.

Samsung hopes to challenge Apple's MP3 player dominance with the new YP-Z5 line of players. The flash players come in 1 to 4 GB capacities and seem to be squarely aimed at Apple's Ipod Nano players. The Z5 players are slightly larger than the Nano, sporting a larger 1.8" display and promise to have a longer battery life.

Redmond (WA) - In a carefully worded response this morning, a Microsoft spokesperson denied his company's participation in a demonstration of a portable music device capable of wireless networking to music industry executives, calling a Bloomberg report on Wednesday and a Associated Press report this morning "speculation and rumors." However, the spokesperson stopped short of denying a demonstration of such a device from someone took place.

Samsung today released its compact NV7 OPS camera, which offers a 7x optical zoom in a slim form factor device. The 7-megapixel camera is crammed into a 4.2" by 2.5" by 0.8" thick frame and - despite it small size - has both optical and electronic image stabilization.

Alienware will start offering Airgo's True MIMO wireless cards on its Aurora m9700 and mALX notebooks. The cards promise up to double the range of basic 802.11 b/g wireless, along with more bandwidth - up to 240 Mpbs.

As the mobile data market shifts from voice to data traffic, a whole host of new applications are coming into play.
As the mobile data market shifts from voice to data traffic, a whole host of new applications are coming into play. As the Asia-Pacific mobile data service market enters this new phase of development, a 'youth revolution' has begun. In developed countries, around 10 - 15% of all disposable income of youths is spent on mobile products, displacing traditional outlets like clothing, toys, and comic books.